The Not So Deathly Hallows
by Atuliel
Summary: AU. Snanger Danger. Severus uses Hermione's difficulties to win her heart.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of this.

* * *

Severus was about ready to give up on helping that foolish boy—if it weren't for his Unbreakable Vow, he probably would. Sadly, Dumbledore was completely unsympathetic to his plight. He still insisted that things had to progress the way they were, and that the end result would have to be the same. Severus didn't know why he listened to the nutter.

It certainly wasn't out of guilt—although he was sure it would be once the man was dead. If he hadn't cleared himself of his sins by now, though, there was no hope for that ever happening. It must've been out of some sort of misguided loyalty, he decided. Dumbledore was too insane for it to be reasonable loyalty. The thing was, Severus had thought Dumbledore was saner than the Dark Lord, and that was partially why he came to him all those years ago.

Now he knew the truth. He was dead wrong.

Severus paused in his strides when he heard a muffled sob, and he listened carefully for the source of the sound. Normally, he wouldn't care—in fact, he might just try to make it worse for whoever was crying. But there was a familiar pitch to it that was bothering him. He finally pegged where the sound was emerging from and strode over to the classroom door, then stopped himself with his hand on the knob.

If it wasn't who he thought it was, then he certainly didn't want to alert them to his presence. They might cry on him. And as enjoyable as it would be right now to make someone cry, the loud whining might eventually get annoying. Then he'd have to take that Headache Draught he'd been saving for his encounters with Slughorn.

So, erring on the side of caution, Severus cracked open the door just the slightest bit, peering inside intently. When he realized he'd been right, he jerked his head away from the opening and took a deep breath. Even crying, her presence affected him. All the breath in his lungs seemed to be gone, and he gasped for air, trying not to be too loud.

Severus wondered what she could be sobbing so forlornly about and he was just about to go investigate, against his better judgment, when he heard footsteps down the hallway. Someone tried a locked door and whispered, "Hermione?" Severus stiffened: Potter.

Obviously the boy knew she was upset and was looking to comfort her. In spite of himself, he felt a strong spike of possessiveness rise up and he pulled Hermione's door shut carefully, drawing himself up and folding his arms, waiting for the idiot to come around the corner.

Sure enough, there the boy came, peering about for his friend as though she might leap out of the walls at any moment.

"Hermione?" he murmured again.

"No," Severus said firmly.

Potter jumped ten feet in the air—and that was the best part of Severus' day so far. He kept his expression carefully blank, however, and watched as the boy drew himself up to full height—which wasn't saying much—and glared at him.

"I was looking for Hermione," he explained unnecessarily.

"Obviously," Severus replied smoothly, jerking his head down the hallway. "I believe I saw the insufferable thing head that way."

Potter looked at first surprised that he would offer even the slightest help, then his features darkened as he apparently realized he was just trying to get him to leave. Then, at last, he bristled in defense of Hermione.

"She's not a _thing_!" he bellowed.

Severus almost winced—if he kept that volume up, Hermione would realize they were out there for sure.

He shrugged carelessly. "On your way then, Potter. We wouldn't want the girl to linger in the throes of emotion for too long without a friendly shoulder to cry on, would we?"

He'd said friendly with a bite to it, and he knew it. There was jealousy in his voice—he just hoped Potter didn't notice. Apparently, he didn't, for he just scowled at him, shook his head, and stomped off down the hallway where Severus had indicated Hermione had gone off to. Never once thinking that perhaps he'd been lying about that bit of information, apparently.

Severus shook his head and turned back to where he could still hear Hermione give a sob now and then. All the better for his alone time with the girl who'd stolen his heart at the first Quidditch match of the year.

* * *

Harry stormed off down the corridor, now flinging doors open to see if Hermione was within the room and then stomping off to the next. He couldn't believe Snape's nerve—calling her a _thing_. He'd never even said that about him before. Why the sudden malice toward Hermione? Normally he acted like she wasn't there—or at least tried to.

Harry shook himself of these thoughts. It didn't matter why. Snape was a git, and that was all there was to that. He snorted angrily as he entered yet another Hermione-less classroom. Where had she gone to? She couldn't have gotten that far. He hoped she hadn't seen Ron and Lavender entwined in the common room.

Just then, he ran into the happy couple themselves and nearly had an armful of Lavender himself. Luckily, they righted themselves just in time, and that awkwardness was avoided.

"All right, Harry?" Ron asked, grinning as he tossed his arm around Lavender's shoulders. "Didn't see you."

"Fine," Harry snarled, feeling rather irritated with the two of them—it was their fault Hermione had disappeared anyway.

So, rather than linger there, he went to go off past them, but Ron snatched the sleeve of his robes.

"Wait, what's going on?" Ron inquired, now looking concerned rather than cheerful.

"Hermione's upset," Harry guessed, growling it anyway. "I'm trying to find her."

Ron looked dumbfounded. "About what?"

Lavender gave an irritated sigh and Harry narrowed his eyes at her.

"I should think that'd be clear to you by now," Harry snapped, jerking his arm away.

Ron's eyes widened. "Look, I dunno what I did to put your wand in a knot, but it'll be faster if we all split up and look for her, won't it?"

Harry hesitated while Lavender gaped up at her boyfriend. Clearly, she was displeased with their schedule of snogging being interrupted, but that's not what made Harry hesitate. Hermione wouldn't want to see either Lavender or Ron in the state she was in, but it _would_ go faster if they all looked. He thought briefly about telling them no and then recruiting Ginny and Neville to help. But Ginny would probably be…_busy_ with Dean. And Neville was no good when Hermione was crying.

Once, she'd been studying so hard for exams that she'd barely slept, and then Ron started talking about the _Prophet_'s slanderous articles about Harry, and she simply fell to pieces. She couldn't stop crying, no matter what they said to try to make her feel better. And Neville, seeing his friend in tears, wanted to help, but he only made her cry harder by telling her that at least exams were coming up. Harry knew that he'd meant that at least they would be over soon, but Hermione certainly didn't take it that way. Eventually, he'd had to tell Neville to go do something else, because he kept trying to help but making it worse.

Harry sighed. The sooner he found her, the better. Like the Greasy Git had said, he didn't want to leave her alone for too long.

"Fine. I'll check this floor, you take the next floor down, and Lavender, you check the library."

"Bu—" she protested.

But Harry was already storming off again.

* * *

Severus cracked open the door again and froze. So much for alone time. This felt more like…spying time. He couldn't stop staring at her. She was sitting on one of the desks, watching enchanted yellow birds flap above her head. It seemed to sooth her cries a little, but tears still streamed down her red face, however silently now.

There was really only one thing that would motivate him to go inside, he realized. Potter might double back if he realized Severus' little white lie, and then he would see him peering into the room. And he would be caught. So, with a great sigh, Severus pushed the door wide and stepped inside.

Hermione looked up immediately, and he saw a flash of annoyance pass over her features before her eyes went wide and she leapt off the desk she was sitting on, as though afraid he would yell at her for the improper seating choice. She vanished the yellow birds and then lowered her eyes, apparently trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying for some time now. Severus backed against the door until he heard it latch.

And then, he realized, he had no idea what he was going to say.

"I-I'm sorry, sir," Hermione began, her voice shaking. "I know we're not supposed to use the classrooms outside of class. I-I was just—"

"You needn't explain yourself," he heard himself answer.

He'd been about to add "Miss Granger," but that would imply that his intentions here were impersonal, when they clearly weren't. So he simply waited for her reaction. She slowly, tentatively glanced up at him, as though afraid to meet his eyes. Her fingers played with the very ends of her wand and he suddenly realized that she was nervous. About what, though?

"What has you so upset?" Severus inquired, softer than he'd intended to.

Hermione's shoulders released their tension, as though his tone had massaged the weight off of them. She met his eyes once, then quickly looked away again, swallowing. Suddenly realizing her cheeks were still moist, she wiped them ferociously and sniffled. Without a second thought, Severus summoned a handkerchief and stepped closer, offering it to her.

"Thank you," she said, almost inaudibly.

She pocketed her wand, took the handkerchief, and started blowing her nose. Severus couldn't help the slight twitch of amusement playing at his lips—he didn't know why he found this adorable. Normally he found it annoying. Hermione appeared to notice his silent laughter, however, for her cheeks reddened even further and she quickly lowered the handkerchief.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Thank you, sir."

She started to hand it back, but he waved his hand at her and she almost—not quite, but nearly—smiled at him, as she tucked the handkerchief in her pocket. Severus tried to playfully narrow his eyes at her, but he wasn't sure it came off right. It'd been a very, very, very long time since he'd been playful about anything.

"You have not answered my question," he reminded her, trying to affect a teasing tone.

Hermione stared at him with puzzled eyes, as though she couldn't quite figure out what was different. Her mouth opened and shut several times before she sank onto a desk again, leaning her rump against it. He waited for her to gather her thoughts and, in the meantime, stepped closer to her. His heart pounded faster and faster the closer he came, but his face betrayed none of the excitement he felt at being so near to her.

When he stopped at what he felt was an appropriate distance, Hermione took a deep breath, glancing frantically up at him out of the corner of her eye. She still seemed nervous and almost…flustered.

"Ron…h-he was kissing Lavender," Hermione said at long last, avoiding his eyes again.

Severus' chest tightened and he inhaled sharply, trying to stop himself from saying something cruel that would only serve to push her away. The jealousy he'd felt just a little bit ago about Potter multiplied rapidly and he could barely keep his composure. A part of him desperately wanted to say something snide and execute a dramatic exit. Another part wanted to say something snide and give her a kiss that would send any thought of Weasley directly from her mind and heart. Still another part wanted to pull her into his arms and assure her that her tears were wasted—Weasley wasn't good enough for her.

Instead, he just waited for her to go on. Hermione's cheeks reddened even further—she was beginning to look approximately the color of a beet—and she started moving her mouth and talking, as though she didn't realize she was.

"I realize I haven't exactly laid any claim on him, and he hasn't on me. It's not like we've made promises or anything, so technically he hasn't done anything wrong, except break school rules by sticking his tongue that far down a girl's throat. And I saw him do something with his hand that I'm positive I never want a boy to do to me, and I'm pretty sure _that_ was against school rules, too. But it still upsets me. I just don't understand him!

"In fourth year, he made it quite clear he was jealous of me and Viktor—even Harry said so! And I thought me writing to Viktor over the summer would upset him, too, and I thought he _did_ get upset. Ginny said he was. She said he was calling him a blackguard and a ponce and all kinds of crude things, the way he does, but then he goes and kisses Lavender as though nothing happened! I don't understand it!

"Why do boys do this?" she asked ferociously.

Hermione's sorrow had gradually been replaced by indignant fury throughout this speech, and now her brown eyes met his with a roaring fire that sent waves of pleasure through his body. Severus lowered himself onto the desk next to her, thankful for his robes, as they easily hid his partial arousal.

"I mean, honestly!" She rose up off the desk and began pacing in front of him, arms gesturing wildly. "They act all jealous and hormonal and act as though they're truly interested, but then they go off and snog some other girl! What is it? Are they scared of having a relationship? Are they just toying with us? Do they just want every girl with breasts and a decent arse?"

Severus shifted uncomfortably. He'd discovered just a couple of weeks ago that mentioning certain…anatomy when Hermione was around was never a good idea. His eyes automatically wanted to wander to those parts of her body, in spite of himself, and the student who'd said it almost caught him at it, too. Of course, he abruptly changed their calculating expression when he smacked them upside the head with a book.

"You know what? Never mind! I don't care what their problem is! I am done with boys!" Hermione proclaimed, hands on her hips. "Stupid, smelly, hormonal, greasy little things whose entire goal in life is to grab a girl's arse—and it doesn't matter whose, either, apparently. From now on, I'm only dating _men_. Real men. Not boys trapped in men's bodies. I'm only going to date strong, intelligent, impressive, non-cowardly, powerful _men_ who know what they're doing.

"Someone who knows how to handle a woman. Someone who can give me one look and warm me right down to my toes. Someone who can respect me and not play stupid games, and have actual, _intelligent_ conversations that _don't_ just consist of, 'Hey, is that a book?' 'Why, yes, it is, Seamus.'" She rolled her eyes. "Even _Lavender_ knows what books are. Of course, she avoids them like the plague, but my point is still valid. If Lavender knows, then stupid boys should. Anyway, I'll…I'll find someone who knows what books are and likes them, and someone who can listen to me, and understand me, and someone who really…really…really…."

Hermione trailed off, staring at him with owlish eyes. Her cheeks had paled at long last, but he thought they may have gone a few shades too light now.

"_Excites_ me," she whispered.

Or at least, that's what he thought she said. She spoke so quietly he couldn't be sure.

Hermione blinked rapidly and looked away, as though remembering something. She hastily backed up a few steps, nearly running into the wall. She was clearing her throat and smoothing out her robes, almost frantically. Severus arched a brow quizzically—she'd been nervous before, but now it seemed to be taking over her every emotion and sending her into some sort of frenzy.

Before he could ask what was wrong, or she could go on rambling, Severus heard someone calling out her name, just outside the door. He had a split-second to react before the door opened, and he used it to cast a Disillusionment Charm over her. He heard her gasp and then go quiet as none other than Weasley popped his head in.

"You in—oh!" His eyes widened. "Sn—Professor Snape, I mean!"

Severus rose to his full height, glowering down at the boy. Weasley visibly paled and gulped.

"Uh…have you seen a friend of mine, by any chance?" he asked, trying for comical. "She's about yea-high, has the bushiest mop of hair you ever did see. Book usually plastered to her nose. Answers to the name, 'Hermione'?"

Severus heard Hermione gasp indignantly behind him at the hair insult. He narrowed his eyes on Weasley after covering up her noise by clearing his throat.

"No, I haven't, Mr. Weasley," he said silkily. "And if you were planning on meeting her for one of your popular trysts, I suggest you abort the plan for the evening, as I'll be making my rounds tonight. And believe me, I won't be fooled by Potter's silly cloak."

Weasley paled again. "Uh, right. Okay, bye!"

His head disappeared from the doorway and Severus rolled his eyes in annoyance. At least Hermione had changed her mind about dating that dolt. He turned to her after taking a moment to marvel at Weasley's unending supply of stupidity and ended the charm. Hermione came back into view and let out a breath, looking over her arms as though relieved to see them there.

Then her eyes fell on him and narrowed. Uh oh.

"Why did you do that?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"I was under the impression that you were displeased with Mr. Weasley," he managed to reply, amazed at his own ability to speak when she was staring at him so intently, "and would therefore prefer to avoid interactions with him."

Hermione's eyes only narrowed further. "But…why are you being _nice_ to me? You…you hate me."

"I do not hate you." Severus watched her absorb that shock, then barreled on. "True, you were just as annoying as your foolish friends in your younger days. However, you have managed to become at least slightly less irritating over the years."

He managed to affect a grudging tone, and she stared at him with a displeased frown.

"Thanks," Hermione retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Severus couldn't help but stare—he didn't know she could _be_ sarcastic. She'd always been so respectful in class…. He didn't get much time to think about how witty she would obviously be, in relation to her vast stores of intelligence, since Hermione's brow furrowed at him.

"…How exactly am I less irritating?" she asked suddenly, sounding as though she were treading very carefully. "I mean, you don't seem any less annoyed with me during class. So, in what way am I less irritating to you now?"

Severus was horrified to realize that, in response to her question, he'd made a strangled noise. He tried to cover by clearing his throat, and he paced away from her, closer to the door. Hermione was waiting with a furrowed brow and folded arms when he turned around.

"Well, you…." He gestured in vain. "You've matured," he choked out.

"Matured?" Hermione scoffed. "I was much more mature than Harry and Ron ever were when I came here. Which I think you're well-aware of."

This was true, he reflected, but she wasn't as mature as she was now when she first came to Hogwarts. Besides, she hadn't just matured mentally or emotionally. There was one aspect she had matured in that hadn't just affected his heart. In spite of himself, Severus found his eyes traveling up her now-perfectly curved body in those unflattering school robes. He was just pondering how appropriate it would be to remove said robes when his eyes finally met hers.

The previously quizzical look she wore had changed slightly. Her eyes had widened a little more and, rather than looking at him with determination in her eyes, she gazed at him with questions dancing in them. She looked curious, a little surprised, and…dare he say, hopeful?

"What?" he asked, forgetting a second too late to add the snap to his voice.

Hermione shook her head, as though clearing it. "It's just…you've never looked at me that way before."

Now it was starting to bug him. Was that really hope he heard in her voice? Or was it something else? Something he didn't recognize…. She cleared her throat, wringing her hands anxiously and glancing up at him furtively, as she had when he'd first entered the room.

Hermione took a breath. "I suppose I should go back to the common room. So you don't…have to deduct points for me staying out after curfew."

She'd obviously been trying to lighten the mood, and even smiled a little, but Severus felt his stomach clench in fear. She couldn't leave now—he was still trying to figure out what had been in her eyes and voice just moments ago. And if he didn't figure it out now, he probably never would. It's not like they spoke like this on a regular basis—in fact, he was quite positive she had only opened up to him now because she'd been crying and needed someone to vent her frustrations to.

Come to think of it, her entire problem with the Weasley boy choosing someone else had been that he didn't want _her_. She was feeling rather undesirable at the moment, and _any_ attention was welcome. So he had to puzzle her out before he lost his chances.

Despite all his inward protests, Hermione cleared her throat and started to walk toward him, and the door. She passed by him and reached for the door, and in a moment of weakness, Severus reached behind him and took her elbow in his grasp, aborting her escape. He turned just as she did and she looked quickly from his hand on her arm to his panicked eyes.

Severus released her as soon as he realized what he'd done, but Hermione didn't turn to go again. Her eyes were on his and there was that questioning, and perhaps hopeful, look again. He thought his eyes were deceiving him when she stepped forward, just a little, but then her gaze fell to his lips. Which wouldn't have been enough to make him realize what he was seeing was real on its own, but then her own mouth opened, just the slightest, and he saw a flash of her tongue smoothing across her lower lip. And he _knew_ he couldn't have been hallucinating that.

His immediate reaction was to stare at her. Hermione Granger wanted him? It didn't seem to fit into his brain. After all, he'd never met a woman he fancied who returned the feelings. And it had seemed less than likely that Hermione would return his, especially considering their hostile history. Besides, she was so good and he was…well, he was a Death Eater. She couldn't possibly want him.

Yet, there she was, meeting his eyes again with that hopeful stare. Severus could read the question in her eyes: was this okay? Was this what he wanted? Hell, yes.

He bent down closer to her, letting the moment drag on as their lips came closer together. Hermione didn't seem to mind the gradual meeting. She just offered a weak smile and kept reaching up for him. By now their bodies were only centimeters apart, and he fought the urge to pull her against him. As it was, he couldn't keep his hand from returning to her elbow, lightly cupping it to reassure both her and himself.

Her eyes were closing as she tipped her head back a little more for him, and he was only milliseconds away from heaven when the moment was broken.

There was a high-pitched shriek and two students stumbled into the room, falling over each other in their battle to remove clothing. Both Severus and Hermione leapt a few feet away from each other, readjusting their clothing even though nothing had been touched, and trying to look as natural as possible. Severus noted irrelevantly that Hermione's hands were gripping the desk behind her with such force that her knuckles were turning white.

Then the two students went silent as they realized their company and Miss Weasley and Mr. Thomas immediately started trying to readjust clothing as well, not realizing right away that they hadn't been punished yet. Even though they were stammering out excuses like nobody's business. Because Severus certainly believed that they were just coming into an empty classroom, past curfew, and taking off layers, to pursue academic perfection. Right.

Miss Weasley noted Hermione's presence for the first time in her long tale about how she wasn't doing well in Charms and came to an abrupt halt.

"Hermione! I…what are _you_ doing here?" the redheaded girl asked, looking between them uncertainly.

Mr. Thomas did the same, scratching his head like the dunderhead he was. Severus glowered at them, regaining his bearings at long last. He just hoped Hermione wouldn't give them away. Not that he thought she'd blurt it out that they'd just been about to kiss when Miss Weasley barged in with her boyfriend, but sometimes Gryffindors weren't the best at subtlety.

In fact, he could see her fighting hard not to glance at him even then.

"Oh…nothing," Hermione squeaked.

Apparently the abrupt change in mood had left her just as unable to think coherently as it had him, although he was recovering much faster than she was.

There was a long, awkward moment. So long and awkward that Severus thought for a second that if the Dark Lord had chosen that moment to deploy his Death Eaters into Hogwarts, the four of them wouldn't have noticed a thing. Miss Weasley was still looking between them with that same puzzled uncertainty; Mr. Thomas was trying to subtly pull his zipper up; Hermione was desperately trying not to look at Severus; and Severus was just trying not to get angry with the couple for interrupting his kiss with Hermione and spill it all anyway.

At long last, Severus pulled himself together enough to be sure that when he spoke, the words wouldn't be, "How dare you interrupt us. Get out."

He cleared his throat. "Twenty points from Gryffindor apiece. Miss Granger, kindly see to it that these two return to their dormitories—_alone_."

Hermione looked startled to hear his voice, but she recovered admirably and nodded hastily.

"Of course, sir."

Their eyes met for the briefest moment, and he could see the pleading for reassurance in her eyes. Severus abruptly looked away—he couldn't give it to her at that exact moment. Mr. Thomas and Miss Weasley were watching their every move. Surely she realized that.

"Come on," Hermione said, voice dipping into the low tones of deep disappointment.

Severus nearly grimaced as he watched her steer the couple from the room, already recovering her composure and lecturing the two about this sort of behavior. Lovely. He was going to have a very upset Gryffindor in his class the next morning.

* * *

"I told you not to do that again after the _last_ time you were caught," Hermione scolded as she pushed Ginny through the portrait hole. "I suppose it's your eternal curse that you can't seem to master your body."

"Actually, she—"

"Shut up, Dean."

"That's not what she meant," Ginny whispered.

Hermione lightly smacked her shoulder. "Don't interrupt. Now, I don't want—"

"Hermione! Where have you been?! We've been looking for you for ages!" Harry exclaimed, bounding over to them. "Are you all right?"

Hermione arched a brow at him. "Yes, I'm fine. Why were you looking for me?"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, suddenly uncomfortable. Then Hermione realized. Ron and Lavender were approaching more slowly from the loveseat. Ron looked relieved, but Lavender was plainly annoyed with something. Hermione had almost forgotten about the new couple entirely in the startling events of the evening.

"I-I was worried. I thought you might—" Harry stammered, turning a little red.

Hermione took pity on him. "I'm fine, Harry."

She gave him a meaningful smile and he immediately relaxed. Ginny broke in irritably.

"You know, _you_ still haven't explained what you were doing out of bed late," she snapped. "And with a teacher, no less!"

Lavender gasped, suddenly excited. Hermione rolled her eyes while the rest of the group reacted.

"It's not how she makes it sound," she cut in sharply. Except that it sort of was and she had to fight from showing signs that she'd been lying just now. "Professor Snape was just—"

"_Snape_?! Bloody hell, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, eyes wider than she'd ever seen them.

"Would you all shut up and let me explain?" Hermione snarled.

They did.

"I went into the classroom to practice a spell and Professor Snape caught me at it," she said primly. "He corrected me on a wand movement and that's _all_."

Ron looked like he was remembering something. "But…when I went in there to check for you, Snape was in there, but you weren't. And he said he hadn't seen you."

"Yeah, and earlier he was standing around outside that door and he told me he saw you go down the corridor," Harry announced, frowning at her suspiciously.

Hermione panicked. She knew she should have kept her cool and shrugged off their accusatory looks with a simple gesture and another lie, but she couldn't help it. The truth of it was, the emotions and events of the evening were all starting to catch up with her. She was feeling a little startled, as well as frustrated, partially angry, disappointed, and not to mention the parts of her that were still feeling incredibly undesirable, and kind of aroused.

When she'd gone on that long diatribe about what kind of man she wanted, she hadn't realized until late in the game that the very man she was describing was Professor Snape himself. And when she had, it was too late—her hormones were already driving her into a by-now familiar state of desire. Of course, this feeling usually arrived late in the night, after a dream that had her grasping her sheets and panting in the need for release.

Hermione had been embarrassed to admit, even to herself, that the man in these dreams was almost always Professor Snape. So she supposed it made sense that she was hesitant to recognize her feelings for him when she was awake, in the same room with him. She never thought that, once she did, he would return them, though. Of course, she was still uncertain about that point anyway. Did he want her or didn't he? She was leaning toward no.

When Hermione realized she'd been staring into space for quite some time, with all of her friends staring at her, she abruptly jumped out of it, startling all of them.

"Uh. Yeah. I did go down the corridor, an-and then I went into that room later, and he must've left and come back," she explained rapidly, hating that her eyes were moving about wildly and her breathing was irregular. "I had to go to the bathroom first. Yeah."

They were still staring, so Hermione went to smooth her robes—but abruptly stopped when she realized why that would be a bad idea—and stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"I'm off to bed. Good night."

She rushed off as quickly as possible without it actually looking like she was running.

* * *

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron asked, shaking his head.

"No idea," Ginny answered, frowning.

"That didn't really make any sense at all," Dean agreed.

"Maybe she and Snape were having a secret tryst!" Lavender suggested cheerfully.

The rest of them groaned.

"Don't even say that. The mental image alone is…yuck," Harry said irritably, holding his stomach.

"There aren't many other ways to explain it, though," Ginny allowed, even though her nose was wrinkled, too.

"Exactly!" Lavender said enthusiastically.

"What about her explanation?" Harry said hopefully. "I mean…we could buy that. Right?"

They all stared at him and he drooped.

"Fine, we can't buy it."

"Well, it's just that the times don't match up," Ginny said soothingly. "It doesn't take Hermione that long to go to the bathroom. And why would Snape leave and then come back? It doesn't make any sense at all."

"Maybe he forgot something," Dean suggested.

"Snape? Forget? Please," she retorted, flipping her hair superiorly.

"Besides, he wasn't doing anything when I went in there," Ron added, frowning in thought. "He was just sort of standing there."

"He was doing the same thing when I was looking for Hermione earlier," Harry said suspiciously. "Standing in the hall with his arms folded. Like he was waiting for me or something."

They all took a moment to process this, but then Harry leapt in the air, almost as if in excitement.

"Oh, oh! And I never said anything about Hermione being upset! _He_ did!" he exclaimed eagerly. "I just said I was looking for her! Which means—"

"Well, we don't know that she was upset in the first place," Ginny interrupted uncertainly.

"No, but wait. See, I saw her charge out of here after I saw Ron and Lavender plastered to each other's lips," Harry explained hastily. "And then I knew she was upset because she was attracted to Ron, so I went after her—"

"She's what?!" four lips bellowed in surprise.

"Attracted to Ron," he replied, as though it were obvious. "I mean, at least she _acts_ like it sometimes."

"She's not attracted," Ginny corrected. "She likes the attention he gives her. It makes her feel wanted."

"Well…fine, whatever you call that then," Harry said irritably, going on. "Anyway, I went after her and then I ran into Snape and he made me so mad I didn't check in that room. Then I ran into Ron and Lavender and we all checked rooms and Ron double-checked that floor."

"How do you explain Hermione not being in there when I checked?" Ron pointed out. "I'm not blind, mate."

Harry thought for a moment, but Lavender was the one who reached the conclusion.

"It must have been a Disillusionment Charm!" she squealed.

They all stared at her and her excitement quickly faded.

"What? What'd I do?" she asked.

Ginny was the first to break from the weirdness that was Lavender having knowledge. She shook her head rapidly and took a breath.

"Okay, so Snape puts a Disillusionment Charm on her when Ron comes in," she said slowly. "But that doesn't make any sense, either."

Dean shrugged. "If we're going with the secret tryst theory, then he didn't want Ron to see her half-naked or something, probably."

"I don't think Hermione's going to strip down for Snape if she's in tears," Ginny retorted, shaking her head. "In fact, I don't think Hermione would ever strip down for anyone, in any situation, ever. The girl doesn't have a sex drive."

"You just said she likes to feel wanted," Harry said pointedly.

"I didn't say she wants anybody, though, did I?" She frowned in thought after this. "Anyway, blowing past the Disillusionment Charm, they're still in there and he removes it, but doesn't hear me and Dean coming in time to put it back up. Now that also doesn't make sense. If he heard Ron coming, why wouldn't he hear us?"

"Yeah, you're _way_ louder than me," Ron said cheerfully, eliciting a glare from Ginny.

They all fell into silence. There was no answer to that one. Ginny sighed.

"Okay. Then…if we're saying that she was upset, and he didn't seem to want anyone to know about it…then maybe he was making it worse on her," she pondered aloud. "Or maybe he was the initial cause anyway. He could've been comforting her, I suppose, but that's not likely, considering it's Snape and all."

"The only thing that makes sense is a secret tryst!" Lavender said eagerly.

"No, that still doesn't make sense," Harry countered. "Hermione wouldn't be upset about Ron wanting somebody else if they were having a secret tryst."

"Maybe it was a ploy," Lavender suggested.

"Yes, I'm sure she paid you two off to snog into next week, just so she could fake being upset and meet Snape for a quickie," Harry snapped, rolling his eyes.

"I don't think we're going to figure this out," Dean put in, before Lavender could reply.

"Yeah. It just doesn't really…it doesn't make sense," Ginny agreed with a forlorn sigh. "And that's that."

"You're letting it drop?" Ron asked, surprised. "Just like that?"

"If Hermione was willing to lie to us to cover up what _actually_ happened, I don't think we're going to find out," Ginny explained, shaking her head. "It's a lost cause."

"Well…then I'd say it's time for bed," Harry said, stretching. "Defense Against the Dark Arts early tomorrow, after all."

Ron groaned. "Don't remind me."

* * *

Severus had been right about the upset Gryffindor. He realized this as soon as Hermione entered with her group of followers. She never once made eye contact with him, sat properly in her seat, and didn't laugh with Potter's other lackeys when jokes were made. In fact, she was all business, with everyone. He overheard Weasley ask if she was all right, and her answer was as steely as he'd ever heard her voice.

"I'm just fine, Ron. Please try to focus on the lesson, would you?"

Weasley had looked stung and crawled back into his seat, glancing at Hermione surreptitiously.

Severus was amazed at her ability to look at him without actually doing it. He'd purposely called on her once, even though other students had actually raised their hands for once in their miserable lives, and she answered without even meeting his eyes. Her head was pointed in his direction, but her gaze was directed somewhere past him. He was probably just a blur to her, in fact.

He was therefore a very frustrated Slytherin. Just last night, he'd been centimeters, maybe less, away from the bliss of her lips against his. And now, because he'd had to put decorum over showing her reassurance, he was further away from her than ever.

And so, being a very frustrated Slytherin, Severus decided to put her in a position where Hermione couldn't ignore him in this way. With one reaffirming nod to himself, Severus interrupted the students' reading.

"If you are not finished, do so by the next class period," he said silkily, watching Hermione for signs of reaction.

He could only see the back of her head, though, so that was pretty fruitless.

"Now, you will get into pairs and perform this defensive spell," he ordered. "Immediately."

Every single one of them shot to their feet and gathered to begin practicing. Most of them were failing, which he'd expected, and he had to reverse a couple of jinxes before allowing them to go on. Hermione was, as usual, allowing Longbottom to practice the defense spell, while she jinxed. He was proud to see that she was capable of following up by reversing it when Longbottom failed.

However, Severus was displeased to see that, as usual, she was in perfect form. He was trying to catch her at a weak moment and correct her. She couldn't possibly ignore him then. It took a long time, but eventually he saw her perform a new jinx. He noted with pleasure that he could alter her wand movement just a little, so that it would be more effective.

Hermione reversed the jinx when it hit Longbottom and went to try again. Severus waited until she was just raising her wand to interrupt.

"Wait a moment, Miss Granger," he purred.

Her eyes went to him the way they had earlier—staring past, not at. Longbottom started to quiver and gulp as Severus came nearer, but he ignored the boy. He left all his attention for Hermione, and just hoped no one noticed besides her.

"Your jinx will be much more successful if you perform the wand movement like this, instead," he corrected, keeping his voice low, just for her.

He demonstrated quickly and, just as he expected, Hermione didn't quite catch it.

"I'm sorry, sir. Could you show me again?" she asked, watching his hand intently.

"Certainly," Severus replied, stepping up behind her and taking her hand in his. "Like this."

He went through it once, very slowly, lengthening the time he could be this close to her. He could feel a shudder travel up her back and her hand started to tremble. He hadn't exactly expected her reaction to him to be this strong, but it pleased him. He showed her one more time and this time, unexpectedly, her hand jerked and a spurt of red sparks shot out the end and at one of the Slytherins. They hit him with great force and he was knocked into a desk, which angered him enough. But then he caught fire.

Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth and ran over to Marcus, who was screeching like a girl. Malfoy and his lackeys were trying to put out the fire, but kept getting singed. The Gryffindors were laughing madly.

"Put it out! Put it out!" Marcus was screaming.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Malfoy responded.

"I'm so, so, so sorry!" Hermione was saying, sounding like she could burst into tears at any moment. "I-I didn't mean to! Um…."

"Just put it out!"

Severus wanted to bang his head against a wall. Instead, he drew himself up, strode over to the group of students, and shoved his Slytherins aside. Hermione moved on her own, still apologizing endlessly. Severus snatched the front of Marcus' robes and pointed his wand at him, soaking him in water and effectively putting out the fire. Immediately afterward, he used a drying spell and Marcus blinked, looking amazed.

Severus stepped back and glanced around at all the students. The Gryffindors were still snickering, the Slytherins were glaring at them, Hermione was whimpering, and Marcus was glowering at her hatefully. Well, Severus couldn't have that.

"What are you standing around for? Back to practicing!" he snarled, making them all jump.

Marcus glanced up at him, then shot another dark glare at Hermione, who was still giving him apologetic looks. When Marcus finally noticed that Severus was glaring daggers at him, he slunk off to keep practicing. Severus' eyes traveled back to Hermione, and she met his eyes for the first time since the night previous.

It was just for a flash, but it was long enough for him to see her darkened eyes and reddened cheeks. For a second, he wondered if her emotions had gotten so out of control in that moment that it resulted in a burst of unrestrained magic. He brushed the thought aside when Hermione looked away and walked hastily back to Longbottom. It wasn't likely her feelings were quite _that_ strong.

When he noticed Weasley and Potter staring at him, he stormed over to deduct points and they groaned in self-reproach. Severus almost smirked to himself at this—they should've known better, after all.

* * *

Harry walked down the dimly lit corridor with Ron in tow while they walked back from Hagrid's. Hermione had passed on the opportunity for the night, claiming she had to study in the library for a while. It was nearing curfew, so Harry was trying to be quick—they didn't want Filch or Snape to catch them, after all—but Ron was dragging his feet. He was exhausted, but that didn't slow Harry down.

It had been a couple days since they'd noticed Snape's newfound hobby of staring at, being near, and generally flustering Hermione. At first, they'd thought maybe he was doing it to make her uncomfortable and she genuinely was. But then, as Ginny pointed out to them at dinner earlier, Hermione wasn't exactly complaining. In fact, she always spent a couple of hours after Snape paid some sort of attention to her in a sort of bliss.

This confused Harry, Ron, Lavender, and Ginny all the more—Dean had decided he officially didn't care after he and Ginny broke up. The behavior certainly pointed toward the secret tryst territory, but Hermione wasn't missing from their lives any more often than she was before, and she was actually at the library when she said she would be. The oddest part of it was Snape, though. They thought he was being rather obvious about it if he was attracted to her, but then…no one else seemed to notice it. Even Neville, when they mentioned Snape's evident new delight in being near Hermione, had asked what they were talking about and went back to studying.

Harry was just wondering if Hermione was feeling wanted and enjoying it the way she had with Ron, without actually returning the feelings, when he saw a pile of black clothes in the hallway ahead. Confused, he furrowed his brow and headed over to investigate. Ron followed sleepily, and nearly ran him over when he stopped to pick up the robes.

"All right?" Ron asked, yawning.

Harry looked over the robes and found a Gryffindor patch, and then something wooden clattered to the stone floor. He bent to pick it up and gasped, nearly dropping it again.

"This is Hermione's wand!" he said anxiously, glancing at a dreary Ron. "Which means these are her clothes."

Ron blinked, not comprehending.

"If her clothes are here, that must mean she's _naked_ somewhere!" Harry exclaimed, trying to get him to understand.

The redhead blinked once more, and then his eyes went wide.

"Oh, oh, my—uh…" he stammered, backing away from the pile of clothes. "Wh-what do we do?!"

Harry considered for a moment and bent to pick up the rest of her clothes. He was relieved when none of her undergarments fell out of the rest of them. He jerked his head toward the stairs.

"I'll get the Marauder's Map," he said certainly.

"Bu-but she told us if we ever used it again she'd hex off our—"

"She's _naked_! I think this calls for an exception!" Harry said urgently.

Ron reluctantly nodded and followed behind, helping him dig through his trunk to find the map. Harry left Hermione's clothes and wand carefully folded on his bed, and then they hurried back out of the dormitories, perusing the map to find the pair of feet with Hermione's label.

"Do you see her?" Ron asked, reaching to see over Harry's shoulder.

"Not yet, no," he replied absently. "Oh! There! Come on!"

They ran down the stairs as quickly as they could, toward the empty classroom Hermione's feet were in. She was pacing back and forth, apparently, for they kept traveling across the room. Finally, completely out of breath and not thinking entirely straight, the boys reached the door of the classroom and flung it open. Hermione shrieked, Harry screamed, and Ron yelped.

The very naked Hermione covered herself and then flung a desk onto its side, hiding herself behind it. Harry was still guarding his eyes, but Ron was frozen in place, it seemed.

"Will you _please_ shut the door?!" Hermione screeched.

At long last, Ron swung around and slammed the door shut, while Harry just stood there with his eyes covered.

"What are you two _doing_ here?" she demanded, cheeks so red that neither boy would've been surprised if they had caught fire.

"We came to rescue you," Harry replied, finally lowering his arm enough to look at her face.

That was normally naked, so it was okay.

"You found my clothes?" she asked, so hopefully that the boys were riddled with guilt.

"Uh…yeah, but we sort of…" Ron replied, scratching his head.

"Left them in the boys' dormitory," Harry finished, gulping.

Hermione took a breath, clearly trying to calm herself down. After a long, awkward moment, she spoke again, voice as even as it could be when she was naked behind a desk with her two best friends in the room.

"Well, I'm grateful that you came to rescue me, but I'll be needing clothes to go back out into that hallway," she said slowly. "Besides…it's freezing in here."

She rubbed her arms ferociously and Ron blushed.

"Uh…how did this even happen?" Harry asked, gesturing in vain.

She winced. "Well, you know how I set Marcus on fire in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

They nodded.

"And you know how he hates me and is always calling me 'Beaver'?"

They nodded again.

"And you know how he's horrible at Transfiguration but great at sneaking?"

They nodded once more. Hermione stared.

"Do you honestly not see where I'm going with this?" she asked exasperatedly.

They started to nod, but then Harry smacked his forehead and Ron gasped.

"He Transfigured you into a beaver?!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "_Yes_. And then he chased me. Him and his stupid friends." She used a few choice words that made even Harry and Ron blush. "And then they reversed the spell once I got in here, but I was obviously naked and…well, at least they left right away. After laughing when I hid behind a desk."

Harry glanced around and saw that there was, in fact, another desk lying on its side across the room.

"Did anybody see what they did?" he demanded, scowling.

"No," she replied, pouting. "It was late by then, and I left the library alone. But I was _not_ going out there and taking the chance that somebody would see me."

Harry nodded understandingly, a lot more comprehensive now than Ron was. Ron was still staring at the desk, as though he could see right through it.

"Well, we'll go get your clothes and come right back," Harry assured her, tugging at Ron's sleeve.

"Wait! Could one of you give me your robe? I'm cold…and even though I'm still not walking out there naked under a robe, I…I'm just very cold," Hermione whimpered, blushing fiercely.

Harry immediately peeled his off and tossed it over the side of the desk. Hermione immediately pulled it around herself and sighed with relief at being enclosed in the warmth still leftover from Harry's usage of it. Harry smiled sympathetically.

"Okay, we'll be right back. And we'll put a ward up to let you know if anybody's coming."

"Thanks!" she called as they ran out the door.

* * *

Hermione pulled the robe closer around herself and decided she felt comfortable enough now to sit in a chair, so she took the teacher's chair and relaxed in it. She rubbed her arms again, pushing the goose bumps back down. She decided she would have to thank Harry and Ron for saving her every day for the next fifty years. That should cover how grateful she was.

All kinds of horrifying scenarios had been plaguing her during her time alone in the cold room. Filch coming in. Dumbledore coming in. Marcus bringing all his Slytherin friends, or half the school, back to mock and laugh at her. A couple of students excited to have sex coming in and then suggesting a threesome. She'd just been grateful ghosts hadn't wandered into this particular classroom.

Hermione felt a tingle of magic go over her and immediately sat up, pulling the robe more securely around herself. She was just wondering if one of her terrifying scenes was about to play out when Severus—_Professor Snape_, she corrected herself—flung open the door and glanced about the room. Probably looking for students having sex.

But then he saw her and he completely froze in place.

Hermione's body suddenly wasn't cold anymore. She squirmed in the chair a little and crossed her legs, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. That would get her through this trauma faster, right? So she cleared her throat, gave a shaky smile, and said, "Hi there."

Of course, it came out mostly just squeaking. Sev—Professor Snape stared at her some more and then somehow seemed to pull himself together. He shut the door behind him and drew himself up sharply, folding his arms.

"You are out after curfew, Miss Granger," he informed her smoothly.

She swallowed. "Yes, I know. But it's not my fault, okay? If it weren't for those stupid boys, I wouldn't be stuck in a classroom, practically naked!"

Severus blinked—owlishly, which she didn't know he could do. Then his eyes went down over her body and she realized that before this he hadn't actually realized that she was only clad in a school robe. Apparently he was just stunned at seeing her in general and hadn't bothered to look at what she was wearing. _And you just had to point it out to him_, she admonished.

The growing fire in her body roared when she felt his eyes travel back up her, like they had only a couple nights ago. Only this time she was almost naked. She squirmed in her chair again.

Sever—Professor Snape cleared his throat. "You're…."

He didn't finish the sentence, but Hermione bobbed her head in the affirmative anyway. He flicked out his wand and she thought for a moment he was going to do something really mean, but then he twitched it at the door and she realized with a jolt that he'd locked it.

"Harry and Ron are bringing me my clothes," she squeaked, but he ignored that and took a few steps forward, then paused.

"Wh…." He gathered himself, taking a sharp breath. "How did this happen?"

She sighed. Was she really going to have to go through this whole speech again? She tucked Harry's robe more tightly around her again and took a deep breath.

"I set Marcus on fire during your class and he already hated me and called me 'Beaver' all the time, so to get his revenge he Transfigured me into a beaver, only he's not so good at that and he didn't transfigure my clothes with me, and then he chased me into this classroom, reversed the spell, and then laughed when I hid behind a desk, and then left, okay?" she blurted in that one breath of air.

He blinked again, then his scowl deepened greatly and she thought she saw his grip on his wand tighten. She could feel the magic in the air, crackling, and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. His face was reddening and he looked kind of upset. Okay, kind of was an understatement. A huge one. She briefly wondered if Marcus was going to die tonight, then decided she had to prevent that from happening. Her Sev—Professor Snape (_what is that?_ she wondered irritably) couldn't go to Azkaban.

"But it's okay," she said brightly. "Because Harry and Ron found me. And they'll be bringing my clothes. Any minute now."

Severus stared at her for another long, long moment. His grip on his wand loosened a little and she let out a breath of relief. Not that the tension drained out of her frame any—she was still very aware of the fact that she was naked under that robe, and with _him_ in the room…. One of her dreams had the opportunity to come true, if his behavior over the past few days was any indication.

Hermione still wasn't quite positive, but the way he'd been acting…it was encouraging.

"And whose robe is that?" he asked stiffly, glaring at the robe as though it had done him harm.

She glanced down at it. "Harry's."

Apparently the nonchalant way she said it was upsetting, for his grip tightened on his wand again and his eyes narrowed.

"You said Potter and Weasley found you. Were you able to—"

She cleared her throat, effectively cutting him off. "Well…I don't know in truth how much they saw, but I hid behind a desk as soon as I could."

He gazed at her for yet another long, tense moment. And then a wicked gleam entered his eye and her heart stopped. What was he going to say? Or do, for that matter. Severus took the last steps over to her and leaned against the desk, folding his arms as though he weren't planning on going anywhere for a while.

"We never got a chance to discuss what happened Sunday night," Severus purred, smirking at her.

"Right." Hermione cleared her throat. "Could we possibly discuss it when I'm not naked?"

He arched a brow. "How do I know you won't go back to ignoring me?"

"I wasn't ignoring you," she refuted, frowning. "I…I was just trying to act as if everything was normal."

"You could have done that quite well by deigning to look at me," he pointed out.

"I was upset," she said defensively.

"Why?"

"Because I looked for reassurance and you didn't give it to me," she blurted, scowling at him now. "I thought that…."

She looked down at her lap, fidgeting with the ends of Harry's sleeves. She didn't want to say it to him—she felt vulnerable enough already. The truth of the matter was, it felt like every man in the world rejected her. She wasn't wanted by anyone, it seemed.

"Thought what?" Severus asked, softly now.

She shook her head. "Never mind."

He took a breath, clearly going to press for more information, but then there was a loud pounding on the door. Harry and Ron were back with her clothes, thank heavens.

"Hermione! We're back!" she heard Harry call. "Open up!"

Hermione stood, carefully adjusting the robe around herself, and gave Severus a pleading look. He flicked his wand once, indicating that he'd unlocked the door, but his gaze was all on her. There was no misreading it—he wanted her to get rid of them as soon as possible, because this discussion was far from over. Hermione sighed and strode past him, carefully pulling open the door, just a crack. If they knew Severus was in there, it would make matters ten times worse.

"We got your clothes, and your wand," Ron said cheerfully, smiling widely at her as he handed over her shoes.

Hermione smiled. "Thanks so much."

She pulled her belongings inside the classroom and was about to switch from Harry's robe to her own, when she realized that Severus had moved much closer to her—just on the other side of the door, in fact. And changing in front of him for the first time, in this situation, wasn't exactly her ideal. She poked her head back through the small crack she'd created.

"Could you give me a minute to change?" she asked, then amended it. "In fact, why don't you two go on up? I'll return your robe tomorrow, Harry."

"Are you sure? I brought the Invisibility Cloak so we won't get caught…" Harry said uncertainly, holding up the cloth.

"Don't worry," she replied, winking. "I'm a witch."

Harry and Ron exchanged a grin at the little inside joke.

"Okay. We'll meet you in the common room tomorrow morning, then?" Harry asked cheerfully.

She nodded. "Yes." They turned to leave, but she called, "Oh, and boys? Thanks again. I don't know how I'll repay you."

Harry grinned. "Just glad you're okay."

"Yeah, I hate to think of anybody else finding out about this!" Ron said darkly. "Do you know how many people we'd have to hex to defend your honor?"

Hermione heard Severus snort and went to shoot him a glare, but thought better of it.

"I think Marcus and company will do a fine job of spreading it as it is," she told them, frowning.

"Don't worry—we'll all tell McGonagall what they did," Harry said brightly. "And then they'll be pickling rat brain till the end of the year."

Hermione laughed and the boys waved, trotting off under the Invisibility Cloak. Just in case, she was sure.

She shut the door and looked up at Severus, who was gazing at her with that unreadable expression he'd been using for days now. Hermione lifted her wand and flicked it, locking the door herself, and folded her arms when she turned to face him.

"Could you turn around?" she asked pointedly. "I'd like to get dressed now."

He dipped his head. "Certainly."

Severus turned about and Hermione glanced over her shoulder at him once to make sure he stayed that way. Then, with unrestrained glee, she pulled on her knickers and skirt, followed by her shoes. She wiggled her toes in them happily, then swung off Harry's robe and began pulling on the layers. When she'd finally finished, Severus was huffing with impatience, seeming irritated.

Hermione flipped her hair out from under the shirts and robe, then gave a contented sigh.

"All right, you can turn back around," she informed him, hugging herself.

He did so, still with that unreadable expression on his face. She raised her eyebrows at him when he said nothing.

"I thought you wanted to continue our discussion," she reminded him.

His eyes snapped to hers with more focus this time and she waited for him to speak.

"You said you were upset because of something you thought," Severus said slowly, keeping his gaze on her, as though trying to read her thoughts. "What was it?"

Hermione heaved a sigh. "It was nothing. I just…I just thought that you didn't…." She blushed as she looked away. "Didn't want me."

She'd said it in a near-whisper, so it was understandable when his eyes narrowed and he leaned closer, as though trying to hear her more clearly, and asked, "What?"

"I thought you didn't want me," she said, louder this time, but still quietly enough that she didn't feel like a complete idiot blurting it out.

Severus drew himself up, scowling with obvious displeasure.

"And I thought that I'd made my intentions perfectly clear," he said flatly. "Especially over the last few days."

"I thought you were just trying to get me to stop ignoring you," she admitted, feeling a little foolish now.

Hermione avoided his eyes, blushing deeply. Honestly, what was he expecting? When he found her in the classroom, she'd been feeling undesirable, and then they almost kissed, but he gave her no reassurance. No promises, nothing. What else was she supposed to think? That his cold look meant he was declaring his undying love for her through his eyes? And then he'd been paying special attention to her when she ignored him, so she kept doing it. She liked the attention he was lavishing on her, trying to get her to look at him. She couldn't help it.

It wasn't like with Ron or any of the boys Hermione had ever liked. She wasn't _trying_ to get them to pay attention to her—they just did, of their own accord, as far as she could tell. But with Severus, she couldn't help but do anything that would get him to pay even the smallest amount of attention to her.

Severus cleared his throat, bringing her abruptly back to the present.

"I admit that was certainly part of it," he said lowly. "However, you seem to have missed the rest." She opened her mouth to speak, but he raised his hand to stop her. "Let me clarify. My former apathy for you has dissipated over the last few months, Hermione."

Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened. That was the first time he'd ever addressed her by her given name, or even said it at all. She almost tuned out the rest of his speech in favor of repeating that sound in her head over and over again, but hurriedly cleared her mind and focused on what he was saying.

"I find myself incapable of going a night without a dream of you, or a day without a thought of you," he informed her, and though he spoke without emotion, his eyes gave him away. They were practically shining at her. "I scarcely dared to hope that you would return my affections until Sunday night, when your wants matched mine. After that, I had hoped that things would change, but not for the worse. And since you seem to have misunderstood me, I see that I must make myself perfectly clear."

Hermione was amazed. That was the longest speech she'd ever heard him make outside of classroom lectures.

Severus was stepping forward and she found that her heart was racing, her breath hitching, and her body reacting to him. She thought for a moment that he was going to finish what they'd started Sunday night, but instead he bent down past her lips and enveloped her in his arms. She'd never felt a hug like this before, nor had she known that a mere hug could take your breath away. Apparently it could.

His arms were all around her and his warmth covered her completely, sending a pleasant feeling through her centre that made her feel completely safe. She found herself reaching on her tiptoes as she pressed his shoulder under her chin, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around him in turn, yearning to be closer. He was her entire world in that moment, and she'd never felt more peaceful. She felt him press a kiss to her neck through her mane of hair and sighed in rapture.

Somehow, Hermione realized, this was just as intimate as any kiss they could've shared. Severus was not a physical man, and he sneered at any sign of affection. A hug was the very symbol of affection and love. So that he deigned to hug her was incredible. Hermione squeezed him tighter at the realization.

Severus started to pull away and she reluctantly let him go, but was immediately sated when he pressed his hand to her cheek. She sighed happily and closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. His thumb smoothed over her skin, feeding her growing delight. Hermione opened her eyes rapidly when she felt his hand begin to trail down her chin, as though to leave her. She snatched it in her own hand and pressed it back to her cheek, firmly.

Severus' lips twitched. "Do you understand now, Hermione?"

She smiled, delighting in the feel of his hand.

"I think I do," she said teasingly, then gradually sobered. "Why are you telling me this now?"

His brow quirked, but he didn't cease stroking her cheek.

"What I mean is…you could have told me Sunday night, or even before that," she clarified, bringing her other hand up to rest on his shoulder. "But you didn't. So why now?"

Severus gazed at her for so long she thought he wouldn't answer. His other hand came up as well, cupping both her cheeks. Hermione couldn't help but smile at the sensation this brought over her.

"You gave me reason to believe I would not be rejected when I told you," he explained patiently. "I wanted to be secure in your returned feelings."

She couldn't really blame him for that. After all, she would've done the same, had their roles been reversed. Actually, she'd _been_ doing that ever since she started having dreams about him.

"I'm glad you told me," Hermione told him sincerely, then paused in remembered horror. "I just wish you'd told me a little sooner, before I set someone on fire and ended up naked as a result."

Severus actually chuckled at this and she grinned, elated that she could make him laugh.

"I was under the impression your little accident was on purpose," he purred, and it took her a moment to realize he was teasing.

She slapped his shoulder playfully, then soothed it with a gentle massage.

"You know I would never do such a thing on purpose," she said superiorly. "Unless they did it first." She smirked. "Besides, it was all your fault. If you hadn't decided to get me all flustered, I wouldn't have lost control of my magic in the heat of the moment."

Severus' eyes widened and then he smirked at her, lowering his hands to her waist and tugging her against him. Hermione circled his neck with her arms, smiling up at him and simply basking in the feeling of their bodies so close together.

"My intent was not to make you so unsettled you lost control," he replied, running his fingers up and down her spine. "But I rather enjoyed it anyway."

Hermione grinned, but smothered it with a mock-glower.

"Slytherin," she teased, feigning haughtiness.

She tossed her hair and Severus' smirk grew.

"Gryffindor," he replied, with false disgust to equal her own.

Hermione laughed, and then suddenly he was kissing her. She'd never felt anything more wonderful in her entire life. She readjusted her grip on him and pushed up onto her tiptoes again, using his neck to keep herself up. Severus, apparently noticing her trouble, bent further down so she wouldn't have to strain quite so far. She barely noticed. His lips were doing marvelous things to her insides.

Normally, her brain was a superhighway of thoughts. It was part of the reason she was so good at multitasking. But Severus' kiss sent tingles through her body, heat between her legs, and banished all thoughts except one: _Wow_. And he wasn't even using any tongue.

When at last he pulled away, allowing her to catch her breath, Hermione's eyes fluttered and she went a little limp in his arms. Severus caught her easily, leaning her against his chest and watching her with concern.

"Wow," she gasped, echoing her own thoughts.

Severus actually smiled and Hermione grinned lazily at him, reaching for another kiss, which he didn't hesitate to give to her. She wanted more than just these gentle, chaste kisses he was giving her, but he would do nothing more than swipe his tongue across her lips. He was a tease, in her opinion. But she gradually noticed that each time they took a breather, his face became more and more serious, and when they went back to it, his kisses were more and more tentative.

Eventually, Hermione frowned up at him and would've put her hands on her hips to add to the effect, but she didn't want to take them away from his hair.

"You know, it's harder for us to kiss when you don't participate, Severus," she informed him, pouting.

His eyes widened and he gave her that unreadable look again, but he shook himself of it and took a breath.

"Hermione, I haven't told you everything," he ventured, frowning.

She furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"You know about my past…involvement with the Dark Lord," Severus said reluctantly, keeping his eyes directed at something else.

She nodded, even though he wasn't looking at her. "Yes."

"The Headmaster has…." He cleared his throat, lowering his head. "Has charged me with a duty that won't be easy to perform. Nor will it be easy for you to understand."

Hermione thought about this for a moment. She couldn't imagine Dumbledore could come up with any torture for Severus worse than going back to Voldemort. After all, with how badly Voldemort treated his enemies, she couldn't imagine him treating his friends very well. She wondered briefly if she could take whatever it was he seemed to be so anxious about—it had to be bad.

Then she set her jaw and shook her head.

"I don't care. I—"

"You will," he interrupted, scowl deepening.

He went to step away, but she locked her arms firmly around him, preventing his escape.

"Listen to me," she said firmly. "I don't care. Whatever it is, I don't. I really don't."

"Hermione, I'm trying to be honest with you," Severus replied softly. "Isn't that what you want?"

She nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I do. I want you to open up to me. But I don't want you thinking that whatever it is that V—You-Know-Who, I mean—" it just wouldn't have been polite to say his name in front of Severus, after all "—or Dumbledore wants you to do will scare me away. Because it won't."

His frown only deepened. "You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," she replied certainly. "I know your life is hard, and that there are certain demands on it right now that will force you to do things that you really don't want to. And I want you to know that I'm here to support you, in whatever you have to do. You don't have to…to fake it with me." She bent her head down to catch his eyes. "I understand."

Severus took another breath. "Then know that our future is going to be difficult. Maybe even impossible, at times."

Hermione grinned. "Nothing can be as bad as being trapped, buck-naked, in a freezing room for two hours, just waiting for someone to discover you."

And as hard as he tried to scowl sternly, in the end, Severus couldn't stop a smile from moving onto his features. He quickly mastered himself, however, and took her hands, leading her back over to the teacher's desk. He gestured for her to sit and she obeyed, watching him curiously. He paced before her, as though considering how to begin.

"Have you ever heard of Horcruxes?" he asked, watching her sharply.

She nodded, stiffening. "Yes."

"And do you remember seeing the Headmaster's blackened hand, the result of tampering with one?" Severus inquired immediately, not giving her a chance to think.

"Harry told me about it…."

"It is weakening him," he told her solemnly. "And it's spreading. I've done all I can, but the simple fact is that he will die. One way or another."

Hermione frowned. Dumbledore dead? She couldn't imagine what an uproar that would create. And poor Harry…he would be heartbroken if yet another of his mentors died. Dumbledore was a great wizard and a kind man, from what she knew of him. It would be a horrible loss. Her sorrowful thoughts halted when she started.

"What do you mean, 'one way or another'?" she asked, brow furrowing.

Severus took another breath and resumed pacing. His face was darkening, his scowl deepening. She started to reach out for his hand and hold him, but he spoke again, sharply.

"I'm sure you and your friends are aware by now that Draco Malfoy has become a Death Eater," he spat, glaring into middle space. "In place of his father."

Hermione nodded, sighing. "Yes, we suspected."

"The Dark Lord has appointed Draco a task—one which he knows he will fail at," he said darkly, pausing to watch her again.

"Why would—"

"He wants to punish Lucius," he said simply, anticipating her. "Naturally, Draco's mother and Albus both realize the Dark Lord's end goal. Albus has decided to use both the task and Narcissa's desperation to protect her son."

Hermione frowned. She didn't like this.

"How?" she asked apprehensively.

"Draco's task is to eliminate the Headmaster," Severus said coolly, though she could see the pain in his eyes. "Both Narcissa and Albus have asked me to complete the task, should he fail."

"What?!" Hermione leapt to her feet, unable to contain herself.

Severus frowned resignedly, watching her.

"That's ridiculous! How could they ask that of you?!" she raged, clenching her fists. "Malfoy isn't your son—he's not your responsibility! And Dumbledore is off his broomstick! How could he expect that of you? You'll be labeled a criminal! You'll be ostracized from society! I mean…you'll have no _choice_ but to go to…You-Know-Who."

He was gaping at her, but Hermione hardly noticed. She crossed the space between them and held him in her arms, tucking herself against him. She sighed.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked quietly, tears threatening to overtake her.

Severus hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair and rubbing her back comfortingly. He kissed the top of her head and she nuzzled his shoulder.

"I don't know," he said at length. "I've made an Unbreakable Vow, at Albus' request. If Draco doesn't kill him…I'll have to, unless I wish to die."

Hermione squeezed him tighter, to his surprise. She was shaking her head, crying now. She lifted her head from his chest and gazed up at him sorrowfully, not letting go of him.

"You can't die," she whimpered, shaking her head rapidly.

He stroked her cheeks, wiping away the tears.

"You can't," Hermione insisted, even though he hadn't said a word. "Please don't leave me."

She whispered that with such pain that he pulled her tightly against his chest, kissing the top of her head fiercely. If there was one reason he would go through with his vow now, it was Hermione. Before their respective revelations, he hadn't had hope for anything. There was no reason for him to be alive anymore, and no reason for him not to kill Dumbledore, at his request. Now there was Hermione, and the only way to see to it that he would see her again was to kill Dumbledore. He shuddered and sighed.

"I won't," he murmured, kissing her forehead as he cupped her cheeks. "I promise."

Severus pressed his lips to hers again, tasting the tears she'd cried out of fear of losing him. Hermione smiled weakly at him and kissed him twice more. And then her eyes lit up and he knew she was figuring something out. He waited a few moments longer, wondering what she was coming up with.

"That's it!" she exclaimed suddenly, breaking away to pace as he had done a few moments before.

"Wha—"

She held up a hand and strode to the teacher's desk, pulling out a piece of parchment, a quill, and a small pot of ink. Her hand moved so quickly down the page he could barely follow it, so he waited until she'd finished to peer over her shoulder, finding a page filled with Arithmancy calculations. She smiled triumphantly and pulled him down for another kiss.

"If everything goes the way it should," Hermione announced after they'd parted, "all you'll have to do is fake your own death."

Severus stared at her. "That simple, hm?" he said sarcastically.

She only smirked. "It really is. You-Know-Who will eventually want to kill you, and you won't be welcome on this side until it's discovered that Dumbledore actually _asked_ you to do what you did. When you fake your death, you'll have to give Harry your memories of all the important events, so he can figure out what he needs to do."

He arched a brow, half-amused and half-proud. "And what, exactly, does he need to do?"

"Well, Harry's a Horcrux," she said simply. As though she'd known it all along. "He'll probably have to be killed, but it won't be lasting." She faltered, pain showing through for a moment. "I hope. It'll be like a rebirth, as Harry is wiped away of the contamination of You-Know-Who's soul."

He stared at her some more, amazed at her quick thinking. She'd figured all of this out in only minutes. It took the rest of them years.

"But you _can't_ die," Hermione continued, more confidently now. "We'll have to figure out how you'll fake it later on…. But either way, I'll come back for you and we'll create a safehouse of some kind. You'll stay there until everything blows over and it's proved that you're innocent." She nodded, wearing a self-assured smile.

Severus smirked suddenly. "You know, you aren't any less bossy than you were when you first came here."

Hermione wilted, hesitant. "I'm sorry. I just—"

"Now I see it's with good reason," he interrupted, cupping her cheek. "You're so much more intelligent than the rest of those dunderheads that it's almost necessary."

She smiled at this, perking up. "Really?"

Instead of answering, Severus kissed her. He nudged his nose gently against hers when he pulled away, and Hermione smiled blissfully up at him. He caressed her cheek and enjoyed the massage she gave his upper arms.

"And when everything 'blows over,'" Severus purred, "what then?"

Hermione blinked, and said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Then we live happily ever after, of course."

He kissed her again.


End file.
